The Inland Empire, a region near my home in Southern California, has been hit hard by the economic downturn. That’s why I was surprised to read this positive article about the Inland Empire in (of all places) The New York Times . It illustrates the opportunities that exist even in the midst of tough times. The article points out that unemployment in the area is one-third higher than the national average...

In a recent study of small-business owners, the research firm Warrillow & Co. found significant differences in the optimism levels of startup business owners and of entrepreneurs who have been in business for five years or longer. Asked in April 2008 whether they expected sales to grow in the next 12 months, 51 percent of new business owners said yes, compared to 35 percent of established business...

If you didn’t read my first post on the subject , the Office Live User Assistance team is continuing to produce videos that provide step-by-step instructions for common Office Live Small Business tasks. We recently rolled out these six new videos based on top customer questions: 1. Set up e-mail alerts . Set up e-mail notifications about changes to your Business Applications and Contact Manager...

Adversity can make your business stronger, say the authors of "The Adversity Paradox," to be published by St. Martin's Press this spring. Co-author J. Barry Griswell tells the Chicago Tribune that small businesses can survive, even thrive, in a recession by giving more, not less. Griswell first recognized the power of this idea when he was a teenager earning money by loading trucks nights...

No business owner could resist this cover line on the latest issue of Inc. magazine: “Markus Frind works one hour a day and brings in $10 million a year. How does he do it?” The profile of Frind , the founder of an online dating service, Plenty of Fish.com, is fascinating reading. Frind launched his business five years ago with no money, no business plan, and not much Web knowhow. Until 2007, he didn...

Does your business rely on one type of product or service? Even in good times, that’s not the smartest business strategy — and in today’s economy, it’s downright dumb. As this article from TheStreet.com points out, now, more than ever, entrepreneurs need to diversify their offerings to stay in the game. “Having multiple lines of revenue doesn't mean you aren't focused,” writes serial entrepreneur...

Gill Corkindale, writing for the Harvard Business blog , has a smart suggestion for any small-business owner: Improve your leadership by developing your ability to reflect. I know, I know. In our typically busy business days, reflection might seem like a luxury available only to Buddhist monks. But that’s not what Corkindale’s talking about. The type of reflection he’s promoting is very practical:...

I strongly believe that one result of the economic downturn will be growth in the number of microbusinesses (generally defined as a business with fewer than five employees). I’m not the only one who feels this way. In a recent post for Small Business Trends , Dawn Rivers Baker, editor of the MicroEnterprise Journal , brings up an interesting point about the growth of the nation’s smallest businesses...